Estes Park Sports

Bicyclists to converge on Estes Park in major national racing event Aug. 24

Goal is to bring $1 million from the event

By Juley Harvey

Trail-Gazette

Posted:
06/12/2013 06:59:32 AM MDT

Race route — all roads lead to Estes Park.

The Pro Challenge is racing to Estes Park on Aug. 24.

It's win-time, not-quite-your-mama's Schwinn-time, as the best professional racing bicyclists in the country pedal to Estes Park, in the premier USA Pro Challenge, on Aug. 24. With eyes and spokes on our community, town planners are preparing for the potential of tens of thousands of spectators and international media coverage. They held a community meeting last Thursday at town hall, to share what is in store.

Community services department director Bo Winslow called the event an "amazing opportunity."

Will it be exciting? Oh, yeah. Plus, it will give Estes Park the chance to show off, in front of crowds of people, both at home and abroad, literally.

"It's a pretty big deal we're putting on here in town," Winslow said.

Groups from the towns of Windsor, Fort Collins, Loveland, Estes Park and Larimer County have come together to make this a spin-cycle reality. Once they realized they could make it happen, planners pulled in all the public entities, from emergency services to public works security. Winslow said there were 120 planners in a room and everyone was part of the process. Just having five government entities working together is "pretty amazing," he said.

Town officials talked about the race route, history, goals, the broadcasts, ancillary events and what to expect on Aug. 24 on Thursday night.

Advertisement

Yes, there will be closures of roads, but they will be opened up again as fast as is possible and safe, to accommodate both visitors and residents riding on four wheels. There will be signed detours, shuttles and security and emergency personnel placed strategically throughout the town.

The pro bike race route begins in Loveland and finishes in Fort Collins, with a spectator delight in Estes Park of allowing the attendees the chance to see the racers up-close and personal in not only a King of the Mountain ride, but also a sprint. Cyclists will hightail it up Highway 34, to Drake and Glen Haven, taking Devils Gulch and the switchbacks for the hill climb, top the switchbacks and pumping all the way into town, going up Elkhorn and Wonderview, turning in front of the Stanley and sprinting back down Elkhorn, to Moraine, up to Beaver Point, then to Marys Lake Road to Highway 7 and back out highways 34/36.

The race around here should take about 40 minutes, if the pack (peloton, in "bicyclese") is all together, and depending how fit and tired the racers are, Winslow said.

Now, Winslow added, Estes Park will have two pro sports in town — the rodeo and the Pro Challenge. The bicyclists will include the "best pro riders," he said, and the highest altitude racing in North America.

"That's pretty big stuff," he said.

Additionally, this will be the biggest event Colorado has seen, garnering 1-million-plus expected spectators. This bike race is the second biggest, only outpaced by the Tour de France. Mais oui! The potential is enormous, Winslow said. Comparing the Pro Challenge to the Ride the Rockies event, he called the latter a "tour," with regular folks just like a lot of us riding, and not a race.

"This is an actual, professional race," he emphasized.

Town administrator Frank Lancaster said there is a strong history of bike racing in Colorado. Getting this event here has been two years in the making. Lancaster said that, two years ago, planners had looked at the event for Northern Colorado, and managed to pull it together for 2013. In this unique event, he said, the hosting community gets to bid on either the start or finish.

"We were different," he said.

The Front Range towns banded together as a team, presenting the package of the entire race in Northern Colorado — and said either all or none would be involved.

"We were in it together," Lancaster said.

The race organizers decided to give it a try. It's easier to work as an organized team, Lancaster said.

"It's pretty exciting to have this partnership," he added. "It's great to have the synergy."

Other communities are now trying to model this organization of the future, he said.

Lancaster expects the economic impact to be "big," and not just on race day, but on the days leading up to and following it. There will be a lot of people, and this will be the only race place where you can see the bikers wheel by twice — through the switchbacks and hill climb and into the exciting sprint through town.

Downtown will be busy, before and after the race, he said, with people walking around visiting retail merchants and eating. He hopes lodging providers will offer packages for the weekend. There will be events going on throughout the weekend.

The economic goal is to reach $100 million. That is not outlandish, considering that $99.8 million rolled into the state with the Pro Challenge bikers in 2012; 70 percent of the visitors were from in-state, he said.

The race will be broadcast live on NBC nationally, and internationally will be seen in 173 countries.

"We're in the best part, on Saturday," Lancaster said. "The exposure will be immeasurable."

Broadcasters will be talking about the community while showing pictures, talking about the racers, talking about downtown Estes Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, The Stanley — "Hey, what a great place Estes Park is!"

"It's a big thing for us to put on," Lancaster said. "The return-on-investment is much more (than is) invested in it."

For more on this story, see the Friday edition of the Trail-Gazette and check online at eptrail.com.

For more information on the USA Pro Challenge, please visit nococycling.com. To volunteer on race day, please contact the Town of Estes Park's Special Events Division at events@estes.org or 970-586-6104.